Joseph Alexander “Joe” Jascewsky Jr. was born in Brooklyn, NY on March 9, 1937 to Joseph and Julia Jascewsky. He attended Public School 201 during his early years and graduated from New Utrecht High School in 1954. After turning down a pitching contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Joe gave college life a try and enrolled at Brooklyn Polytech. However, in 1956, he accepted an appointment to the United States Military Academy and headed 50 miles up the Hudson River to spend the next four years of his life at his new “Rockbound Highland Home.” Joe did well academically and was never under any pressure from the academic departments. Joe had a full cadet experience: he was a member of the Newman, Handball, Pistol, Rifle, and Ski clubs and played baseball during plebe year.
After graduation in June 1960, Joe went to the Engineer Officer Basic Course at Fort Belvoir, VA, followed by Airborne and Ranger schools at Fort Benning, GA. He described that period as “life being put on hold.”
In February 1961, during a major snowstorm, Joe married Arlene Lampack from nearby Newburgh, NY at the West Point Cadet Chapel. After the wedding they drove to their first assignment with the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY, where Joe joined the 326th Engineer Battalion as a platoon leader. Joe and Arlene then headed for West Lafayette, IN to attend Purdue University, where Joe earned a master’s degree in engineering science in 1964. The Army then decided to put Joe’s engineering expertise to work, assigning him for a short stint with the Foreign Science and Technology Center in Washington, DC. It was during this time Joe and Arlene adopted their first child, Joe Jr. In 1965 Joe was sent to London, England to work with a detachment of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Before heading to England, Joe and Arlene adopted their daughter, Julie. The year 1968 was one of transition: they returned to the United States, they adopted their youngest son, Chris, and Joe branch transferred to the Ordnance Corps.
In 1969, Joe deployed to Vietnam in a maintenance role while assigned to USARV. Upon his return from Vietnam, Joe completed the Command and General Staff School course at Fort Leavenworth, KS, followed by a pleasant three-year teaching assignment at West Point in the Department of Engineering. During that time Joe was also involved in closing the old Ordnance labs and opening the new science building.
The next several years of Army life were hectic for the family. After the West Point teaching assignment, Joe was sent to be the executive officer for the 25th Infantry Division Support Command at Schofield Barracks, HI. Then Joe and Arlene faced their second separation during their Army years. Joe was sent to Korea to be the commanding officer of the 702nd Maintenance Battalion. Following Korea, Joe was assigned to the M-1 Abrams Project Management Office in Warren, MI during the tank’s final stages of development.
“Retirement versus the War College” was the decision Joe faced in 1980. He decided it was time to retire, and, after a year working back in Hawaii, Joe and his family returned to their roots in the Northeast, where Joe managed defense programs for RCA and GE. Arlene’s teaching and Joe’s work schedule allowed time for family vacations on Cape Cod and skiing in New Hampshire. Joe and Arlene also took great pride in giving time to their church and their community. They were often involved in managing bible study groups, counseling at marriage preparation courses and leading Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (CCD) classes for their parish.
In June 1991 they made their final move to Newtown Square, PA, where Joe again worked for RCA and later for Lockheed Martin as a project manager. He retired from Lockheed in the spring of 1997. Shortly after, Arlene was diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimer’s. Joe stepped up to this new challenge by becoming Arlene’s primary care giver. For the next seven years he approached the task not as a chore or a burden to bear but rather as a gift to have extended quality time with his beloved wife. Arlene was only given a few years to live, but she defied medical predictions and survived three years longer than expected. Joe remained convinced that his care had a lot to do with that. He always felt that the few years he spent caring for her paled in comparison to the 30-plus years she had given to him and to their children. On a snowy morning in February 2005, Arlene passed away. Joe recalled with sadness another snowy February morning 44 years earlier when they were married at the West Point Cadet Chapel.
A couple of months after Arlene’s passing, it was discovered that Joe had a brain tumor affecting his vision. After several surgeries and months of rehabilitation, Joe got back to living as normal a life as possible. He spent a short time at Brandywine Hall, a senior living center in West Chester PA, until he moved closer to his daughter, Julie, in Milford, NH. Joe passed away on August 24, 2015 and now rests alongside his wife at West Point, together forever.
Joe’s life exemplified the true meaning of Duty, Honor, Country. He served his country with distinction and was a devoted husband and loving father. Well Done, Joe; Be Thou at Peace.
— Daughter Julie, son Chris, and classmates